AMD Confirms Delay of Kaveri Chip to Early 2014.

Advanced Micro Devices has confirmed that its highly-anticipated Kaveri accelerated processing unit that will features a number of innovations related to general-purpose computing on graphics processing units will not be available this year. It looks like Kaveri will be formally unleashed at the Consumer Electronics Show 2014 and then will reach the market in late Q1 or early Q2 next year, which will result in exactly one year delay compared to the original schedule.

Speaking to VR-Zone web-site, Roy Taylor, AMD’s vice president of channel sales, claimed that “AMD never said the launch would be before Christmas” of 2013, and that the next-generation code-named Kaveri accelerated processing unit “would be available shortly after its formal launch at CES”. He then said the “architecture itself was ready to go”, but attributed the delays of the launch to the fact that the “HSA’s marketing not yet being complete”.

With its first two generations of accelerated processing units – Llano and Trinity – the company traditionally aimed early calendar year as a launch window. But then had to delay the chips to mid-year release due to manufacturing and/or logistics issues. The code-named Kaveri APU was supposed to be released in the first half of 2013, based on roadmaps and plans the company communicated to analysts, investors and OEMs in 2012. Back in October, 2012, AMD’s chief executive officer reiterated plans to launch Kaveri in the first half of 2013. Earlier this year the company pledged to deliver Kaveri in late 2013.

As it appears now, AMD has completely redesigned its roadmap and now intends to formally introduce A-series “Kaveri” products at the CES 2014 then to ship it to customers in Q1, just like rumoured several weeks ago. The reasons for a postponement of around a year are unclear, but a major delay is obvious. Given the fact that Kaveri is a very important project for AMD as it will serve desktop, laptop and server markets, a set back is a bad news for the company. Kaveri is expected to be replaced by Carizo APU in 2015.

Also in late Q1 – early Q2 2014 the world’s second largest supplier of microprocessors is expected to release its code-named Mallins and Beema APUs based on second-generation Jaguar-based designs. Mallins and Beema are projected to be succeeded by code-named Nolan APUs in 2015.

AMD Fusion A-series APU code-named Kaveri is projected to feature up to four Steamroller high-performance x86 general-purpose cores as well as GCN architecture-based AMD Radeon HD graphics engine. The Kaveri chip will be AMD’s first high-performance accelerated processing unit with HSA [heterogeneous system architecture] enhancements, such as heterogeneous uniform memory access, CPU and GPU cache coherency and other. Moreover, Kaveri will be AMD’s first high-performance APUs made using 28nm process technology. Finally, the chips will feature new dual-channel memory controller as well as all-new power management.

As a result of massive changes inside Kaveri, the chips will feature new FM2+ form-factor and will only be compatible with new mainboards with FM2+ sockets, according to a new roadmap update issued by AMD. The new chips will therefore be incompatible with existing mainboards, which means that there will be no upgrade path for systems based on A-series “Trinity” and “Richland” APUs.

Given the fact that Kaveri will feature a number of “firsts” for AMD, a new socket was something logical to expect. What is unclear at this point is whether FM2+ mainboards will have any specific requirements and whether they will be more expensive than existing motherboards with FM2 sockets.

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Hi, well, Rory Read, chief executive officer of AMD, said last October that Kaveri was on-track for the first half of 2013. Now, AMD's representatives talk about CES and claim they never said the product was supposed to be a 2013 product.

Well, have a look at Lisa Su's FAD 2012 presentation here (http://ir.amd.com/phoenix...amp;p=irol-2012analystday), pages 10 and 20. Like you can easily understand, press samples sent on December 20, 2013, will not mean a launch. Moreover, it rather confirms that the formal launch will occur at CES 2014.

In case a chip that a CEO promised to launch in 1H 2013 arrives to market in Q1 2014 does not mean it was delayed, then I do not know how to call it.

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The words "ship" and "launch" without qualification are both vague in meaning. Ship to who? Launch as in PR event or with final product in store? The words "available" or "selling" qualified with "general public" is specific. AMD never mentioned these words or a specific date. It cannot be refuted that AMD will ship Kaveri to some of its customers (OEMs) in 2013 and said anything to the contrary. Here is a report from CES in Jan 2013 -

"This particular part will be fabricated by GLOBALFOUNDRIES on their 28 nm node. It will be made on bulk silicon, so no SOI for this part. I was quite surprised that GF would be in a position in the next half year to start ramping production on their 28 nm process. AMD expects to start shipping Kaveri in a late Q4 timeframe this year. These parts will be desktop at first and will transition to mobile in 2014. AMD wants (and needs) to get these parts out in a timely manner, and they are pulling in the launch as much as possible. Hence the desktop first release while they refine production to be able to adequately address the mobile space. Achieving good bins and yields at the higher TDP is easier than trying to hit those numbers for a 35 watt and below product line".

Any negative reaction to Kaveri not being available in products pre-Christmas demonstrates that this is the most anticipated AMD chip since the first x64 Opteron. HSA is a brand new way to compute. It is the future for power efficient computation. Intel is now copying AMD evidenced by the increasingly larger die areas devoted to graphics. Indeed copying is the greatest form of flattery.

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And what is that well defied meaning and why does it differ for other types of products in other markets, for example cars that are launched at auto shows? It doesn't mean on the shelves for customers that very day, does it now. It doesn't even mean going into production that very day. "Launching" a product essentially relates to its marketing, not availability.

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3.

Hey Anton - just wanted to point out that VR Zone has updated their article and said they were contacted by AMD's Taiwan PR department and told Kaveri is on track if you check their article again. I also have the same information from their main PR department.

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5.

This is a good chance for AMD to close the gap with intel with steamroller seeing as Haswell brought little in cpu performance over Ivy Bridge and Broadwell will basicly be just a die shrink of Haswell with improved power efficiency.